NZ Herald celebrates the death of regional TV

The show I host and write, Citizen A, is funded by NZ on Air and appears on Triangle TV as part of the regional tv budget, so I think I have some ideas on the topic.

The NZ Herald of course misused their position as the only daily newspaper to promote their flawed landline polls to claim their de facto editor, John Key would gain over 50%, 3 years of that propaganda saw the lowest voter turn out in 120 years, that iPredict on Stratos TV called it minus any of the Heralds news room budget must have grated as this editorial celebrating the death of Stratos and regional TV is so counter to their own philosophical free market pretensions it seems like the editorial team are still on holiday and this was written by a jealous intern.

What the NZ Herald misses is that extra NZ on Air funding won't extend to regional TV if they are unable to gain a certain percentage of country wide reception coverage, that leaves the usual monoliths of TVNZ and Mediaworks to battle it out for what is left in the budgets. If public private partnerships and lowering the costs of TV production via competition are the way forward, denying regional TV from accessing those NZ on Air budgets EVEN AFTER they gain the same reception coverage by being on Freeview, then the PPP mix for broadcasting will be nothing more than a joke used to strangle off the last vestiges of public broadcasting.

Effectively, Kordia - a Government department - will charge regional TV to get onto freeview, but NZ on Air won't consider those regional TV stations to compete against TVNZ and Mediaworks for public broadcasting money even when they are off the analogue signal and all on the same digital platform of freeview.

As for the bitching of audience numbers, STRATOS was rating over a million viewers a month, to pretend as the Herald does that the numbers are not there to justify public support simply shows they didn't do their research when writing the editorial.

The dumber the media, the sleepier the Hobbits. That the NZ Herald smugly cheers this demise speaks volumes of their own role as corporate media in the brain deading of the nation.

Jesus ! I'm sick of the lack of a plan of action ! It should be painfully clear to most , that we kiwis now have a leadership crises , a government comprised of the greedy unintelligent who've learned the art of bullshitting the masses and a media supporting all of the above . Of course the media will be bias ! Under such circumstances , it would be careless with an imagination to assume otherwise . The trick is ... What-do-you-think-we-can-do-about-it ! ? It's a serious question ! We , all of us , well-intended , spend our time writing and thinking and no doubt scaring our friends about this complete and total cock up that is our country , it's economy and it's ( Our ) political state ! Fine ! Great ! We know we've been and continue to be fucked over ! But what can we do ? Strike ? Seems not . Vote ? hahahahahah ! Leave ? Sure , off you go ! Stay , hide , grow a beard , grow your own , buy a chicken , learn the art of late night cow draining , run your car on your own farts ? What bizarre lengths are we going to go to before we stand up to these hideous fucking bullies ? Look at them ? John Key ? Does he have no idea how to be a nice and witty human person without coming across as Satans best torturer ? Those eyes ! Uuugh ! Gerry Brownlee ! He was a bullying wood work teacher ! He was hated by most of his students ! ! Paula Bennett ! Have you heard what comes out past her rosy lips ? She's a lying creep ! Bill English , known parochially as the Dipton Dribbler ! That guy is in charge of our money ! And there's plenty of it until it disappears to God only knows where only to reappear to pay out crooks so as rich people don't take losses ! Have you ever been on the dole ? You will know how important a mere, extra ten dollars is ! Yes , we are being fucked on the deal ? Why ? Really , who cares ! The important thing is the answer to ' What are we going to do about it ? ' At the risk of being ridiculed and traced and tracked , I think [we] should design and promote three days of direct action ! Two days , as travel days , the other as a day of protest and demands held at Parliament Buildings . I think [ we ] should call for a Royal Commission of Enquiry . I think [ we ] should call upon the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and ask the Crown to install a temporary Government body while the results of the Enquiry are made public and then , we should have another general election after voting is made compulsory like it is in our bolt hole of preference , Australia . What do you think ? I'm being fucking serious believe it or not ! Bomber ? What do you think ? Phoebe ? Tim ? To all you guys following Tumeke ! . I reckon the time's come !

It is in the interests of the boss man (like sdm) to keep the populace stupid and sedate. If Scott had his way public broadcasting would simply be sports and weather. The role of a critical media in a democracy that creates the public square to debate ideas is the last thing the right want, and let's be honest, it worked.

The braindead mainstream media told the country for 3 years that National had over 50% support via their flawed landline polls and that resulted in the worst turn out in 120 years. The message is clear for the Government - keep the hobbits sleepy.

Oh dear Martyn. I am not saying I do not want a critical media at all. Indeed some of the greatest journalistic break-throughs, take Watergate, were done not by public broadcasting. But that is an aside.

But you have avoided my point. Why cant you film your show and upload it to tumeke? It will reach as many people as before, without the commercial pressures.

If I want real news, I dont tend to look on tv for it. Its not 1970 anymore

The Stratos channel website has reason to state that it had "a growing audience of more than one million"

Wow! 1 million viewers in a country of 4.5 million.

So what defines commercially viability? And who defines it? (And what happens to a country when morons are left in charge of important decisions?)

I feel confident that the 'War on News' would have a very popular following, in fact I'd guess it would achieve cult status, if it hadn't already. It may have taken people longer to look at a new channel and find it, had it been on a mainstream channel it would have had more viewers from the outset.

So if 'commercial viability' is the issue, someone is making a poor call.

It appears, far from fiscal factors, that there is an unwillingness amongst those holding decision making powers, to allow a program of a critical nature to be aired, its far too entertaining in the satirical format that it uses and we wouldn't want awareness raised amongst our population now would we?

Without informed voters democracy is nothing.

Why don't we just jack the whole idea of democracy in now? (Oh! yes, that's right, approx a million people decided just that in the last election!)

I seriously thought Stratos was an Australian channel, seriously. Totally assumed that a channel that informative wouldn't possibly be from NZ.

1 million viewers over a month. 30K a day. Not heaps, but still a few.

Look I have no problem with this programme being on air. I do have a problem with any tax payer money going into it - after all, it is from a left wing perspective, it advocates a left wing position and I don't think that tax payer money should go into any programme that advocates so openly a political position. I would feel the same way with a right wing programme.

1: There needs to be a public sphere of debate provided by interests other than commercial for the health of democracy, perhaps some Jurgen Habermas needs to be on your reading list before further comment?

2: It is in the interests of the right to diffuse the public debate spectrum so that apathy and entertainment lite rule, disconnecting the masses, as was evidenced by 3 years of the msm using their flawed landline polls to convince the masses National had over 50% support leading to the worst turn out in 120 years.

3: Dear, dear Scott, you are paying for Citizen A regardless. It is funded by the regional tv budget (you did read the blog before commenting right?) The show goes to air on the 19th of this month on Triangle TV and then posted online, it provides an alternative to the mainstream news and has a variety of right wing views on the show (you can't pretend Matthew Hooton is a lefty can you Scott?) and does a hell of a lot more in exploring the issues than Close Up. The argument you put forward Scott simply locks the power of the monopoly broadcasters, TVNZ and Mediaworks into a position of dominance, where no regional network will be able to compete for NZ on Air broadcasting funding post the 2013 switch over.

For such a free market prostitute, I'm shocked you would want policy that locks uncompetitive practice into place Scott, surely if you are on your free market high horse you would welcome the opening up of these budgets so smaller broadcasters could pitch against the larger players to create public broadcasting programming.

Stratos has a million viewers? It's this sort of bombastic exaggeration that does your cause no good at all.

It's a shame Stratos is going and I do occasionally enjoy your stream of consciousness soliloquies, Martin. But citing the presence of your paymaster, Matthew Hooton, or trumpeting his deviously corrupt website, ipredict - or spinning National's greatest vote in 60 years as some sort of blow against MSM prognostications - is just dumb.

I think you're better than this. I guess I'll know if this comment passes moderation.

Dear Jazzbaby - that's a lot of below the belt punches for someone too frightened to put their name to their opinion, but let's take the time to dismantle your personal attack shall we?

Stratos has a million viewers? It's this sort of bombastic exaggeration that does your cause no good at all.That's exactly the number of viewers per month when you combined the uhf frequency numbers and the digital and sky audience numbers. Across 3 platforms that was its monthly cumulative viewership using the exact same methodology as the major networks. Seeing as I've seen the numbers on paper Id suggest your first premise 'jazz baby' is bullshit.

But citing the presence of your paymaster, Matthew Hooton, or trumpeting his deviously corrupt website, ipredict - or spinning National's greatest vote in 60 years as some sort of blow against MSM prognostications - is just dumb1: Hooton is an example of a right wing voice perspective on Citizen A, Scott was claiming it's simply a left wing show and as such he wouldn't pay for it, I pointed out Hooton can't be called left.

2: iPredict called the election better than the flawed landline polls used by the msm, their numbers had National over 50% and labour near 20% - iPredict was a far better instrument of reading public opinion than the msm polls.

3: And I've pointed out that this election was the worst for turn out in 120 years, how that is 'spinning National's win' is beyond me.

Each of your points don't stand up at all. As for this little tickle at the end ...

I guess I'll know if this comment passes moderation.

...when your attacks are as weak as this Jazzbaby I'd pay commercial billboards to publicize them.

PS - Jazz, your bitter personal attacks lack charm and humor - your main point on the ratings which you use to launch a line of incorrect points is countered very well by Beatson over at Pundit - who also points out Stratos had over a million viewers. I don't see you posting venom there jazzbaby. You are wrong about your assertion, here's the link - http://pundit.co.nz/content/stratos-is-dead-whos-next